


The Third Father

by hollyharley



Series: Holly's Whumptober 2020 (Independent works) [2]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Gen, Gun Violence, Irondad, Kidnapping, Michelle Jones Needs a Hug, Not Canon Compliant, POV Peter Parker, POV Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:14:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27138526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hollyharley/pseuds/hollyharley
Summary: After he is revealed to be Spider-Man, Peter is forced to make a decision.Kill one: May, MJ, or Mr. Stark.Tony knows it needs to be him.[this is a one-shot. ignore the second chapter pls]-----content warning in notes.i'm disregarding canon and so Peter's identity isn't reveal by what's his face and Irondad can be here for the angst TuT
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Holly's Whumptober 2020 (Independent works) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1980866
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **content warning:**  
>  major character death, gun violence, threatened violence/death, drugging, restraints and collars (not nsfw), kidnapping, ptsd symptoms, funeral mention.
> 
> Please stay safe. prolly 16+ to be safe.
> 
> comments are open and my tumblr is hollypurcellwrites. if you need any specific trigger, hmu!! :)

**Prompt #2**

_**IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY** _

_**“Pick Who Dies” | Collars | Kidnapped** _

**Prompt #3**

_**MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY  
Manhandled | Forced to their Knees | Held at Gunpoint** _

* * *

The first person who texted him was Betty.

It was 7PM, and Peter was on patrol. He had stopped a woman from stealing some old lady's purse earlier, but beyond that, it had been pretty slow day. He had some Cal 2 homework to finish, and this was what he was thinking about when Karen alerted him of a text message.

"From Betty?" he asked, confused. 

"Yes, would you like me to show you the text?" He said yes. It was probably about Decathlon or something. 

His text messages popped up on his lenses. 

\--------------------------------------

**Betty Brant**

_Today, 7:04 PM _

Peter, did you see  
this?

_Behind the Mask:  
Spider-Man revealed  
to be a 16 year old   
student at MSST  
_

Is it true?

Is it you?

\--------------------------------------

Fuck. Fuck! _Fuck!_

"Karen!" 

"Yes, Peter?"

"Call Mr. Stark."

"That seems appropriate. I am calling now."

As the phone rang in his ears, Peter ran towards his backpack, webbed onto a wall a couple blocks away. He went from rooftop to rooftop to avoid the people on the street. Tony answered just he got to his backpack. 

"Mr. Stark!"

"Kid, I saw what Jameson published. Fuck. I need to get you here now. Anybody with a bone to pick is going to go after you now that they know you're 16. I'm coming to get you."

"Mr. Stark-"

"Stay where you are. Are you still in the suit?" 

"Mr. Stark! I need to go to May!"

"Happy was with her. They're on their way here. Don't worry. I'm suiting up now to get you. You need to get out of your suit. Are you changing?"

"Yeah, I just need to-"

At just that moment, a girl no older than 12 ran into the alleyway. "Spider-Man! Spider-Man!" She pointed her phone camera at him. "I found him, guys!"

Before the girl could give his location to God knows who, Peter told Mr. Stark he needed to find somewhere else to change and climbed up the side of the building. Once again, he was leaping rooftop to rooftop. After about a minute, Peter stopped. That was far enough. He was now on the roof of an apartment building. "Mr. Stark?"

"I'm leaving the facility now, kid. Change and hide. Hide your face. I'm going to call Happy. I will call you back in two minutes, okay?"

"Okay."

"Promise me, don't move."

"I won't."

" _Promise_ me," Stark urged.

"I promise."

"I'll call you. Two minutes."

Tony hung up, and Peter quickly changed into his school outfit. Luckily, he had a hoodie, so he put that on too. Then he had nothing to do but wait. He hid behind the elevator bulkhead and pulled the hood as far down as he could. He fidgeted with his phone, willing Mr. Stark to call him back. He thought of reading the article, but he knew it would just make him even more anxious. 

At just that moment, his phone pinged. It was MJ. A picture, of what he didn't know, as his phone was still locked. 

In his panic, he hadn't even thought of MJ. And Ned! Why did he think anyone's malice would stop at his blood relatives? Fuck! He needed to call them. He needed to tell Mr. Stark to go to them first! 

Peter opened his phone, intending on calling MJ, when he saw the photo.

It was MJ. She was sitting on a cement floor, staring up at whoever was taking the photo. Her hands and ankles were tied. Her mouth was taped with duct tape. The phone's flash reflected in her watery eyes.

Peter started to shake. _Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God._

Before he could call Mr. Stark, his phone started to ring. It was from MJ. He answered without thinking. Frantic. "MJ?"

"Peter Parker." An electronic male voice. "If you do not want your girlfriend to die, you will follow my instructions."

* * *

When Peter didn't answer Tony's call, he screamed at FRIDAY to track him. FRIDAY told him both Peter's suit and phone remained in the same spot as before, but why wasn't he answering his phone, then? He knew the kid was impulsive, so he was terrified.

He couldn't lose Peter over some journalist's stupid vendetta. 

He couldn't lose Peter.

Tony reached the location: an apartment building. A quick search of the rooftop yielded nothing. "Fuck. FRIDAY, where exactly is the signal coming from?"

"Two meters to your left."

He turned. Two meters to his left was an electrical box. He ripped the panel off and found Peter's phone and suit shoved inside. He reached for the phone when he heard a scream.

It was a boy's scream. A teenager's scream. Tony flew in it's direction. "PETER! _PETER!"_

FRIDAY was saying something, but Tony couldn't hear her. He could only hear the screams of the kid- his _kid-_ coming from about two blocks away. He flew down into an alleyway. The screaming was coming from inside a short building. Under construction. Ignoring every logical choice he could make in the scenario, Tony punched through the door. There was blood pooled on the floor. It's source, Peter, was curled up on his side, facing the wall. Still screaming. The side of him on the floor was soaked with blood, but Tony saw no wound.

Tony leaped out of his suit and ran towards the boy. "Peter!" The screaming stopped. "Kid!" Tony reached the boy. "Peter, where is it? Where are you hurt?" Peter didn't answer, so Tony gently turned him on his back. There was a lot of blood, but he couldn't see the wound. "Peter?" Tony brushed the boy's hair out of his face.

This wasn't Peter. Tony realized he was too dirty, too skinny. Bloodshot eyes looked up at him.

Bloodshot eyes watched as he was struck on the head and crumpled to the floor.

* * *

Peter reached the street. Under the bus stop bench was another phone. He picked it up. It was 7:29. He had only gotten here with a minute to spare. The phone rang, and he answered the call.

“Peter Parker. I will give you instructions. If you do not follow them, if you try to alert someone, if you do anything other than what I tell you to do, your girlfriend will die. Do you understand?"

"Yeah."

The Voice told him where to go, where to turn. He suspected they were tracking him somehow; whether it be through the phone or if he had a tail or something else, he didn't know, but he didn't dare even breath wrong. He couldn't, not with MJ in danger.

_"If you follow my instructions, I will allow your girlfriend to live. Her for you."_

_"How do I know you're telling the truth?"_

_The Voice laughed. "You're just going to have to take my word for it. You don't have any other choice."_

His last conversation with the Voice replayed over and over in his head as he was told to walk around Queens. He couldn't think about how all of this had happen, couldn't form any sort of hypothesis, not when MJ was at risk. The picture he had been sent... did they hurt her? He would rip the people who did this apart. If they didn't have complete control over MJ's life, he would have done so already.

He tried to map where The Voice was directing him, but it felt like he was going in looping circles. He didn't know how long he had been walking at this point, but it had been at least an hour. The sun had set; the street lights were on. It was quiet. He would consider it a gentle night, if not for the phone he held up to his ear. "Turn right at this upcoming street."

He hoped Aunt May was safe with Happy. Was Mr. Stark looking for him?

He reached the street corner and turned right. "Walk forward." The hairs on Peter's arms rose. He felt Something. Someone. He couldn't do anything about it though. MJ for him. That was the deal. He didn't care what they did to him. He just needed MJ to be safe. He walked forward until he reached a dead end. He could climb over this wire fence easily, but he didn't. _MJ._ _MJ._ _MJ._ He heard shuffling. "If you move," the The Voice reminded him, "I will kill Michelle Jones." Peter didn't move when he stopped hearing their footsteps nor when he heard the tiny click of a dart gun. 

It hit his neck. It stung. He plucked the dart out of his skin and turned to see who shot him. A tall muscular man walked toward him and...

 _He was tired._ He blinked _._ He was falling. Hands pulled him up. Orange cloth.

_Tired._

* * *

He awoke to the sound of crying.

"Happy, please. Please wake up. Please! _Please!_ "

The last the he remembered was the dart hitting his neck. Where was he? Why couldn't he _move?_

"May, he's gone."

"NO!" That was Aunt May. She was hysterical. Why was she crying? 

"May, please." Mr. Stark. Peter forced his eyes to open. He was looking up at a cement ceiling. He couldn't move. Couldn't speak. 

"Peter?" A new voice. Mmm... MJ. MJ! "Peter?" There was shuffling and a clang of metal. MJ groaned. "Peter? Are you-"

He heard beeping. May stopped crying. The entire room was silent as a door opened. There were footsteps. A face loomed over him. "I see you're awake, Peter."

It was the Vulture. Toomes grabbed his shoulders and pulled Peter up into a sitting position. Blocking his view, he put something metal against Peter's neck. The collar held his neck in place against the wall. Toomes held Peter's head up by his hair and winked. "I could do anything I wanted to do to you right now, Spider-Man." He attached another metal collar around Peter's forehead. Then Toomes moved aside, and Peter could see.

MJ. May. Happy. Mr. Stark. All chained to the wall with collars.

Happy was dead. 

Adrian Toomes sighed and pulled out his gun from his holster. He pressed it against Peter's temple, and May screamed. "Relax, woman! I'm not going to kill _him_." Toomes chuckled. "I wasn't planning on killing Hogan here. No, no, no, I was going to give him to Fisk. But we agreed. Tony would _not_ shut up unless he saw some major damage, and you, Peter, well, we realized you didn't need the extra persuasion."

He walked over to MJ and stroked her unkempt hair. She didn't have duct tape on her mouth anymore, but she was still bound- like everyone else was. Her eyes were swollen. She and Peter locked eyes, and he hoped she could hear him saying, _I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry._

"I hope you don't kill this one, Peter. I like her. She reminds me of my daughter. You remember Liz?" MJ nodded, and suddenly, the man grabbed her and pushed her against the wall. _NO!_ _STOP IT!_ Tony and May yelled at him to stop, but they were bound. They watched helplessly as Toomes hit her. "I wasn't talking to you, you stupid bitch!"

Just as it had started, it stopped. MJ curled into a ball, and Toomes started stroking her hair again. Peter wanted to scream, _Stop touching her!_ "Liz, Liz my daughter. Michelle reminds me of her. Did you even know about her diagnosis? The girl whose life you ruined was without a father the day she died." 

Peter didn't even know Liz got sick. "Lymphoma. She was too sick to even visit me. She died because of you." Toomes's jugular pulsed from anger. "And now, one of the people you love is going to die too." He smiled at Peter. "Pick who dies." He tapped the glass clock on top of the door. "You have an hour. You should be able to move by then."

Toomes entered a door code and left them alone.

* * *

Tony was a scientist. He took notes. His metal collar had a chain that was attached to a handle on the wall. About half a foot, which gave him enough room to get a better view of everything. To his left was the door. In front of him was Peter, whose eyes were currently shut. To the right of him was Happy's body, then May, then Michelle.

Michelle was slumped against the corner of the room. Her eyes were open, but she wasn't moving. She took slow, labored breaths, so he knew she was alive. She was shell shocked, and maybe that was a good thing because he didn't think this was a nice place to be right now. 

May was pressed against the wall, pulling her chain as close to Happy's body as possible. She reached her bound hands towards Happy and cried quietly. It hadn't been like that when she got here. When she was dragged in by Kraven, she had been fighting. Once she was chained, she immediately talking to Michelle, making sure the girl was okay. She was asking Tony questions. But Happy's death had sent her over the edge. She was an incredibly intelligent woman, but he knew there was no way she would want to try and think of an escape plan with him right now. Not when pants were soaked with her lover's blood.

Guilt threatened to consume Tony, and he tried to push it all away. He needed to find a way to get out of here. But how could he focus on that when Happy was dead? It was Tony's fault. His yelling and taunts had caused Toomes to shoot Happy right in the chest. 

Happy was dead because of him. His wrists and ankles still zip tied. Eyes still open. 

Happy was dead.

Happy was dead.

Happy was dead.

His last words were to May. _"I love you."_

Happy's blood.

Tony couldn't remain objective. Who was he kidding? He wasn't a superhero; he was a rich guy with a suit. He had been taught how to get out of zip ties by Happy a long time ago, but he didn't remember how because as always, he had been too busy sticking his head up his ass to pay attention. Not that getting out of them mattered anyways. The only person who could break these collars was Peter because Peter was the only hero here.

50 minutes left.

 _The kid must be so scared right now._ Tony turned his attention to the boy. He had been watching Tony. The boy couldn't move because of some sort of drug he'd presumably been given before he got here, but Tony could imagine his anguish. He knew the kid always took way too much responsibility for everything.

"It's not your fault, kid."

To his surprise, Peter let out a small moan. As if to say, _I disagree, Mr. Stark._

"It's not your fault. They knew your identity before it was released anyways, or they wouldn't been able to tranquilize risk of killing you." Tony suspected they had just used the press release as a way to ambush them. He tried to scoot closer to Peter. Of course, he couldn't, though he had pulled so hard against the collar he could already feel bruises forming on his neck. "It's not your fault." He wondered what Peter would say if he could speak. Oh, he knew. 

_It's not your fault either, Mr. Stark._ _They're going to be looking for us! The Avengers will find us. Carol will wipe them out singlehandedly!_

They sat in silence. There was little to say. So what that Fisk and Toomes partnered up? Who cared how that happened? God knows what kind of magic drug Fisk got to make Peter unable to move. God knows where they were. Happy was dead. Happy was dead, and someone else would die today if Toomes got what he wanted.

30 minutes.

It had to be him. 

"You have to pick me, kid. It's me. Pick me." Peter's finger twitched, and he let out a noise in protest. _No, Mr. Stark! No one else is going to die!_

MJ was still in her trauma coma, but after a few minutes, May spoke up. "You can't do that to him, Tony." She turned to Peter. "Don't listen to him. He has a family. What about Morgan, Tony? What about Virginia?" He was startled by the steel in her voice. "You have the Avengers to lead. You have a family who loves you. You can't die here."

Peter understood what she was implying before Tony did and let out a strangled sound. 

May wanted to be the one who died.

20 minutes.

She held her bound hands wrists to her temple. "There's no good way out of this." Peter let out something that sounded like "Nnn!" His arm twitched.

Tony hadn't let himself think about his family, but now he couldn't stop it. Pepper. The love of his life. The meaning to his living. Her soft touch when he woke up from a nightmare. Her cleverness. Her sarcasm. The glint in her eye when she had an idea. Every single piece of her was perfect. And Morgan? She was the light of his darkness. She had a brightness she inherited from her mother; a puckishness inherited from Tony. She had more love inside of her than any other person in the entire world.

And yet, he still needed to die today. 

10 minutes.

Tony asked Peter how he was feeling. The kid could move a little, but he was incredibly weak. He was in no condition to fight Toomes, and that had been the only hope he had had to get out of here. Tony doubted he would try when their lives were at risk anyways. May spoke softly to her nephew, trying to convince him it would be all right. When she stopped, Peter and Tony held each other's gaze, and Tony shook his head quietly.

_It has to be me, kid._

* * *

5 minutes left.

Peter could move his arms a little. He could purse his lips. He could make some sounds and wiggle his toes. That wasn't enough. He couldn't do this. He was still too weak, too disoriented. He couldn't save them, and that meant Tony was going to die. No one spoke. The fear in the room was so thick it could be cut with a knife. 

May was crying. Peter was crying. Tony was crying (though they all pretended not to see it.) Abruptly, Michelle rose from her stupor. ""He's probably going to kill all of us." She snorted. "We're all- we're all fucked."

He hoped she was wrong. He hoped Toomes wouldn't be too clouded by his grief to remember that Peter had saved both his and Liz's life, once upon a time. Maybe he could talk to him.

MJ took in a jagged breath. "I love you, Peter. Fuck this guy. You did something good."

"I lobe all ouf you," he whispered. _I love you, MJ. I_ _love you, May._ _I love you, Mr. Stark._ He knew what he had to do. 

0 minutes left.

The door beeped and swung open. Toomes, gun in hand. "You choose, Peter?"

It took all of Peter's strength to lift up his hand and touch it to his forehead. "Pick me."

Toomes laughed. "That wasn't the deal, Peter," he sang. He stalked over to MJ. He held the gun to her head, and she looked up at him with steely eyes. A rush of adrenaline went through Peter. May screamed. Peter screamed. Tony screamed. Not her. Not MJ. She was the only one they agreed would stay alive. 

"You're lucky, Michelle. You remind me of Liz." He moved on and pressed the gun against Aunt May's temple, and Peter couldn't stop himself from shaking. This couldn't happen. He could lose her. She was his mother. "Nnnn!" Toomes ignored Peter, but he didn't stop screaming. _No! Choose me!_ He tried to break free of his restraints, but he was too weak. Too weak! Too weak. "May!"

Toomes enjoyed his anguish. He stepped over Happy's body and went to Tony. "Tony Stark, I should've killed you from the beginning." He pulled Tony onto his knees, which Tony allowed him to do without putting up a fight. He was choosing to let go. Toomes put the gun against his temple and looked Peter straight in the eye. "This was your choice, Peter."

Tony closed his eyes. 

* * *

They were left on the steps of a courthouse, along with the bodies. 

The last thing Peter remembered was Toomes drugging him again. He woke up in a hospital bed, May at his side. She told him the basics. MJ and May hadn't been drugged, only knocked out. MJ had woken up first, in the dark, and screamed until someone came. She and May had already been released. Minimal injuries. Did he want to answer Ned's texts? 

Peter could see the bruise of the collar under May's scarf. He didn't answer Ned's texts. 

Toomes was still at large. The police could find no connection to Fisk and thought Toomes had been lying about partnering up with him. They had no idea who they were talking about when they described the man who had kidnapped them. MJ was... alive. Not okay, but alive, as the rest of them. Pepper and Morgan came to visit him, and Pepper assured him she didn't blame him- even though he blamed himself.

"Get better," she said. "Tony would want you to live."

He would get better, at least physically. He went to the funerals, and then he went on the news. He vowed, on national television, that he would give Tony and Happy justice. He would find Toomes. He would find a connection to Fisk. He would avenge his father's death.

That's what Tony was to him. A father. And he thought Happy would have become a father to him too, one day. So when he woke up from his nightmares, not wanting to leave the apartment, he remembered. He had a choice to make. Stay in bed and watch in horror as Tony's death replayed over and over in his mind, or get up and go outside. He chose to go outside. Not to be the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Not to be a student or a boyfriend or Peter Parker. He had only one thing left inside of him, and it wasn't love.

It was the need for revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading! hmu below if you'd like (or see any grammar mistakes haha)!!


	2. ignore this

my works aren't showing up on ao3 check :(

**Author's Note:**

> mcu: we have aunt may but she will NOT be given a personality.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
